John Herschel discovered NGC 5043 = h3476 on 7 Jun 1837 and recorded, "Cluster VIII; oblong, 10' by 7', of loose sc st 11m." His position corresponds with a mag 10.7 star at the center of a scattered group of mag 11/12 stars. Harold Corwin moves the center of the group 30 sec of RA west of JH's position. The RNGC description is "NOCL?".

300/350mm - 14" (4/4/16 - Coonabarabran, 73x and 178x): very bright scattered cluster extending over a 14'x7' region from SW to NE. Contains ~25 brighter mag 10.5-12 stars and an equal number of faint stars. Three mag 10-10.5 stars are on the southwest end. Many of the stars appear to be connected in loose, curving chains. There is no concentration towards the center or denser subgroups and the outline is quite irregular. Still, at low power the group stands out well enough. Located 30' SE of a mag 4.5 star (V831 Cen).

Notes by Steve Gottlieb